Exodus 20:4 says, "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below"

Maybe I've misunderstood you, and correct me if I have, but what is the connection between the second commandment and "The Passion"?

Or this translation:

Exodus 20:4-5 (ESV)
"You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. [5] You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me,

Maybe Iím not being clear enough. What I meant by that post a while ago was this,

(Condensed Version): Why not take advantage of this movie everyone is talking about? Millions of people have seen it, many who are not Christians. They are sure to have questions about some things, things that have been pointed out in many of the posts in this thread. Answer their questions, tell them the biblical truth and set them straight. If this movie failed in all other aspects it did succeed in one thing: It got people interested! Donít let this chance slip away!

Maybe Iím not being clear enough. What I meant by that post a while ago was this,

(Condensed Version): Why not take advantage of this movie everyone is talking about? Millions of people have seen it, many who are not Christians. They are sure to have questions about some things, things that have been pointed out in many of the posts in this thread. Answer their questions, tell them the biblical truth and set them straight. If this movie failed in all other aspects it did succeed in one thing: It got people interested! Donít let this chance slip away!

That doesn't make the movie right. It makes it used of God, but the end does not justify the means! If there is something wrong with the movie, that is worth discussing!!!!

(Condensed Version): Why not take advantage of this movie everyone is talking about? Millions of people have seen it, many who are not Christians. They are sure to have questions about some things, things that have been pointed out in many of the posts in this thread. Answer their questions, tell them the biblical truth and set them straight. If this movie failed in all other aspects it did succeed in one thing: It got people interested! Donít let this chance slip away!

I certainly agree we should use this as an opportunitty to spread the truth. HOwever, the fact that its being used doesn't justify its faults.

(Condensed Version): Why not take advantage of this movie everyone is talking about? Millions of people have seen it, many who are not Christians. They are sure to have questions about some things, things that have been pointed out in many of the posts in this thread. Answer their questions, tell them the biblical truth and set them straight. If this movie failed in all other aspects it did succeed in one thing: It got people interested! Donít let this chance slip away!

going to a strip club is wrong, therefore christians should promote unbelievers to go to strip clubs so that we can set them straight with biblical truth right after..

Quote:

Rom 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
Rom 6:2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

if it breaks the second commandment it would be a sin.. regardless of the fact that "grace would abound" because of it.

"Endurance Through Discouragement"
By: Zach Wood
James 1:2-4 (NLT)
Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything.

Wow! What a mouthful in a short passage! James is clear to us that trouble will come our way somehow and in some way. There's no escaping problems in life. They will find us and seek us out. However, we can choose how we react and deal with troubles and trials. I'm thinking of the song by Brian Doerksen, "You Shine". In this song, there's a line that says, "In this world we will have trouble, but You have overcome the world." It's a song that encourages us to look to Christ who shines and who's love is far beyond any circumstance we will deal with in life. It's easy many times to focus on our problems and complain that life is dealing us way too many "lemons". However, we can take those lemons and make some lemonade! Right? I've heard that saying so much through life, but it's an awesome illustration.

I was reading this passage from another devotional I received this week and I felt the need to send a devotional with this passage. When we are tested through difficult experiences, frustrations and discouragement, that's when God provides the opportunity for us to really grow in our faith. We can either grow stronger or fail miserably. It's really our choice and how we want to look at the situation(s).

God WILL give us strength to endure the tough and discouraging times. Let these be times to learn more and become deeper committed followers of Christ. Others should see us handling discouraging situations with endurance and trust in Christ. What a witness and testimony we can be to them!

We just need to remember and never forget that we are victorious with Christ, not by ourselves.

Indeed. This one came at just the right time for me. I've had a bad week. Thank you!

__________________I believe, O Lord, and I confess, that You are truly the Christ, the Son of the Living God, who came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the chief...
~ Ryan Isaac

Advancing from false doctrine to true faith,illumined with the light of knowledge,let us clap our hands and offer grateful praise to God in song!With due honor let us venerate the holy icons of Christ,of the all-pure Virgin, and of all the saints, depicted on walls or panels or sacred vessels,rejecting the godless teaching of the heretics!For as Saint Basil says:ďThe honor shown to the image passes to its prototype.ĒBy the prayers of Your pure Mother and of all the saints,we beseech You, O Christ our God, to grant us great mercy!that He may be bountiful and save our souls!

"The Power Of The Tongue"
By: Zach Wood
Proverbs 18:21
The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

None of us could go back and count the number of words we have said to people throughout our lives. That would be impossible to remember. We have all said words that are very encouraging to others, but we have also said many words that have been hurtful and damaging, too. I don't know about you, but I know that I've said some things to people in my lifetime that I would go back in a minute to take back or rephrase. We are human beings. Many times, we don't realize what we're saying to people or how our tone is coming across. It's not always "what" you say, it 's more of "how" you say it. I had to learn this growing up and even to this day. And....probably will be learning it for the rest of my life! All of us will. This is a topic that each of us can relate to and no one is exempt. There is not a person in this world that has not said something hurtful to another. We are all guilty of using hurtful and damaging words.

Even though we can ask forgiveness from God and from the people we hurt, we can never take back what we've said. I've personally learned this in my marriage relationship. Those of you who are married are probably nodding in agreement because you've been there for years. My wife and I have come to learn very quickly that marriage is a lot of work, but it's so well worth the time taking to make sure communication is working. Communication is such an important part of life. Certainly in marriage, but not just in marriage. We all use communication in our various relationships with others. Sometimes we end up verbally hurting the ones we love the most. There are times when I come home and don't have the best attitude toward my wife. I might be in a cranky mood and I get snappy. Or there are just times when the enemy uses a situation to bring hurtful words to my mouth and they don't need to be uttered at all, but I fail to keep them back. Once they're out, that's it! No getting them back!

The power of our tongues can either build others up or tear them apart and create permanent damage. My encouragement through this devotional is that we will all really work harder at controlling what we way and knowing how to say things and when not to say things. I know we'll be learning this lesson all throughout life, but we can become better as we come to love Christ more and be careful of the words we use toward each other. Especially during the times of frustration and discouragement.

"We Have A Mighty Deliverer"
By: Zach Wood
Psalm 40:1-2
I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.

It's inevitable to fall into a "slimy pit" now and again in our lives. There are times when we become weak and fall into a low time and find it hard to get out. Seems like it's not hard to fall into those hard times, but it's even harder to get out of them. Sometimes it seems there's no way to be revived or rejuvenated through the difficult and trying times. I have learned throughout my ministry years and up to this day, that we always have a deliverer available to help us in our time of need.

I'm reminded of the song, "Jesus, Lover Of My Soul". The words of this song remind me of the passage above. He's taken us out of the miry clay, set our feet upon the rock so that we can stand firm and see clearly that He's working.

Often times, we forget how awesome and powerful God works. We can't possibly afford to let go of God through the hard times in life. You're probably wondering why I've been writing devotionals lately about enduring through hard times? Well, I just feel that the enemy is more work at now in our lives as Christians more than ever. He wants to find every way he can to slip into weak points and weak times. In these times, don't ever forget how strong and mighty our Deliverer is! He has promised to be with us wherever we are. We must trust in Him and believe that He will provide the way out of the "slimy pit". It most likely will NOT be in the way we first think or could have ever thought of. I'm always amazed at how God rescues me from the hard times. He always is able to teach me to be stronger in my faith and trust in Him more.

We do have a mighty Deliverer and His name is Jesus Christ. No one else can lift us out of the hard times through life.

"The Need Meeter"
By: Zach Wood
Philippians 4:19 (NASB)
And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Recently, my wife and I were grocery shopping and we needed to pick up some ham. The shelf was emptied of the ham we desired, so my wife asked one of the employees from the meat department if there was more in the back storage room. After about 10 minutes or so, the announcement came across the PA about the ham having been restocked to the shelf. I don't always ask if there's more of a product and just assume that it's gone because the shelf is empty. Simply by asking did the shelf become restocked.

This simple situation reminded me of we are toward the needs God meets in our lives. God wants to meet our needs and supply us with what we need to live. However, I have found that I don't ask God often enough to meet my needs. I get too busy to stop and ask God to meet the need I have or I just fail to bring it before him. He has promised me and all of us that He will meet our needs. We need to bring our desires of needs before His Throne and ask. God is our "need meeter", but we don't consult Him often enough to request a need to be met.

If we're empty like the store shelf, and we don't bother asking God for more to replenish our soul, then we're missing out on a lot of what God can and will lavish upon us. Just as the store employee desired to come out and replenish the shelf spot with more ham, God happily desires to meet our needs. We simply need to ask and we shall receive.